The Bible: SO MANY VERSIONS, which one should you read?

The Bible: SO MANY VERSIONS, which one should you read?

There are many different translations and versions of the Bible. Some non-Christians even cite it as a point of objection to Christianity because they are not sure which one is the authoritative version. In order to answer the question of “Which Bible do we use?” we have to understand the history of translations.

The first translations

Translations have been a common thing from the time of the Septuagint and Targums, around 300BC. These are the first translations of the Jewish Scriptures into Greek and Aramaic. The Septuagint and Targums were originally introduced so the Jews of various areas, who spoke languages other than Hebrew, could still read the Scriptures. These translations were formed by extensively reviewing the Hebrew Scriptures and carefully translating so the translations would maintain the essence of the original Hebrew writing.

After Christ, the Hebrew Scriptures were used as an inheritance from the Jewish roots of Christianity. As Latin began to take its place as the language of the Roman Empire, Saint Jerome produced the official Latin version, known as the Vulgate in 405AD, to offer the Bible to the people in the common language.¹ Saint Jerome developed the Vulgate while drawing on Jewish tradition and consulting Jewish teachers to maintain the essence of the writings.  The Vulgate and other Latin translations have been used for subsequent translations, offering a level of assurance that new translations maintain the influence of the Jewish commentators and teachers who were originally consulted.²

New translations began being spread in the vernacular throughout western Europe around the 14^th and 15^th centuries. These translations were developed by referring to the Vulgate to make sure the vernacular translations maintained the same essence the Vulgate had inherited from the Jewish translations.

Subsequent versions

After Martin Luther started Protestantism in the early 16^th century, he opted to create his own canon of Scripture by removing seven books from the Old Testament, which is known as the deuterocanonical books, or more popularly called “the apocrypha.” He also took it upon himself to come up with his own translation.

One result of the Protestant movement was the birth of Christian denominations who no longer relied on the teachings of the Catholic Church. These various theologies ended up developing their own translations with their own commentary. With the aid of the printing press, many of these different copies circulated throughout western Europe, particularly in England. Most all of these copies cease to exist today due to the heavy condemnation that came upon them from the kings of England, other Protestants, and the Catholic Church. Most all of these had numerous translation errors, with one having as many as 6,000 mistakes. As a result, the Protestants wanted an “authorized version” which is how we ended up with one very popular version, the King James Version, which omits the deuterocanonical scriptures from the canon of Scripture. I will note that the 1611 version did have them, but held them in an appendix noting they were not included in the Protestant canon of Sacred Scriptures, instead being considered apocryphal.

Most of the terribly erroneous versions have become a collector’s piece for those wanting to hold onto parts of history, but they have not been available since their demise after first print.

Through time, The Protestant movement resulted in additional Christian sects, many of which had their own version such as the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.

We also have various English translations for the various vernacular dialects throughout the history of the English language. For example, we have the first authorized English Catholic Bible, Duoay-Rheims, as well as Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, 2^nd RSVCE. There is also King James in old English as well as New King James which updated the original KJV with modernized pronounces from thou and thee to you and your.

Understanding the different versions

There continue to be differences between the various versions of the Bible. As I have mentioned, the Protestant versions and many of the denominations that developed from them have omitted seven books from the original canon of Scriptures established by the Catholic Church when the Bible was first born.

Some of them have also taken it upon themselves to modify the Scriptures to better suit their theology. For example, Jehovah’s Witness translations, called “New World Translation,” are known for at least one major modification to the original Scriptures that can quickly lead a person to heresy. In Catholic and Protestant Bibles, the first verse of the Gospel according to John typically reads as, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” however Jehovah’s witnesses change the last phrase to read “the Word was a god” (emphasis added).³ This is because Jehovah’s witnesses believe Jesus is a god created by God and not the Second Person of the Trinity. This is because JWs do not believe in the Holy Trinity. The JW Bible is written under the belief that all other Bibles mistranslated John 1:1, however the translations that developed in early Christianity were derived with the understanding of the teachings passed down from the Apostles, meaning, the first Christian translators understood what was meant in John 1:1 due to pairing Scripture with the oral teachings handed down from the Apostles through their disciples, mirroring the way the Jewish Scriptures came together before Christ. Due to this notorious alteration of John 1:1, it is safe to assume JW translations have other crucial changes throughout.

My suggestion

As for which Bible to read, the simplest answer is that the best version and translation is the one you can pick up and start reading. With that, there are some to avoid. I recommend avoiding the New World Translation for the aforementioned reasons. I also recommend avoiding the Morman (Latter Day Saints) translation because Mormons are also non-Trinitarian and it is quite possible they have modified the translations.

Personally, I suggest trying to acquire a Catholic Bible containing the complete Canon of Scripture established in 382AD. When choosing a translation, it is good to remember there is a spectrum from literal translation to essence, and everything in between. The New American Bible was translated as a word-for-word translation, personally speaking, I have seen this cause it to lose some of its essence. My favorite translation so far is the revised standard version, second Catholic edition. This is the translation of the Ignatius Press Study Bible, but it is available from other publishers as well.

If these are not a viable option for you, then whatever Bible you can get that is in your vernacular is the best one for you to read. I started with a 1949 King James Version in olde English, and I was ultimately led to the Catholic Church that Jesus Christ established. The primary goal should be to prayerfully read the Bible and let the word of God enter your heart so you may grow closer to God.

Now that you hopefully have determined which Bible to read, the next post will discuss how NOT to read the Bible as well as how to read and understand the Bible.

References

¹1985. Tanakh. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.

²Ibid

³n.d. “According to John.” Jehovah’s Witnesses. Accessed October 27, 2025. https://www.jw.org/en/library/bible/study-bible/books/john/1/.